Almost October

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As much as I love September, I love October even more. I'm not much of a seasonal decorator, mostly because I don't like taking decorations down (or more accurately, I don't take them down in a timely manner), but I do usually put up some Halloween decorations.

I used to get a pumpkin at the store every year to carve into the standard face shape, but the past few years my husband has been growing a patch of jack-o-lantern pumpkins for me instead. That's so much better than just one pumpkin when I can arrange them into cute little groups around the porch and in the house. I haven't actually been carving any since then, but I'm thinking about doing one of those shaved-type designs this year. They have those pricey little "kits" that didn't appeal to me, but then I read an article where they used a linoleum cutter to make all of the nice cuts and realized my linoleum cutter would be perfect for that. Now that I know I've got the right tools, it might be too tempting to pass up this year. I just need to think of a good design to carve...got a few weeks to think on that one...

A couple of years ago I got a fogger machine that uses regular tap water and electricity to make a not-so-little witch's cauldron, and even my husband thinks it's pretty cool, so I'll be doing that for sure. I'm also a candle fanatic (fanatic might be an understatement), so of course there are all kinds of Halloween candles along with various other decorations. I had to resist the urge to get more decorations this year, but OMG they have some of the cutest things out there!  I won't even get started on my wish list for Halloween decorations, but I will say that those white candles that drip red wax are on top of the list.  Maybe next year I'll have less will power and will finally break down and add to my decor. This year I think I'll just stick with all of the fun stuff I already have, and it is always fun!

Lots of Pieces Still Coming Together

These weeks just seem so extreme.  Between the sadness of winding down at my day job, the stress (good stress!) of trying to fill orders and build up new inventory and then the fun of fall activities, all I can do is try to enjoy as many minutes as possible and not stop and think about it too much. So many things are a work-in-progress such that I haven't hit any big milestones for a while, and the next milestones seem far enough in the future that it's hard to keep focused on them mentally even though my physical activities are organized around them.

As I write down my thoughts for the week, I always try to think of a picture that summarizes everything, but I'll have to stop and think about that for a minute since nothing seems obvious...hmmm... Maybe an empty bottle of wine? Just kidding...  How about a project that looks the way I feel?  That's it.

Soooo the project above was almost done, but it suffered some damage when it got knocked off of the wall. I hadn't even gotten a frame on it yet! Anyway, all of the missing/bent pieces and raw edges don't look great right now, but it is really close to getting all fixed up and looking just as I've planned. I simply have to keep working on it. And I really do need to keep working on it since it's no doubt trying my husband's patience for me to have that ladder in the middle of the hallway all of the time -ha!

I guess life is too short to get stuck anywhere for too long, but I'm making progress, and I'm very happy with the way things are going. If things seem "all over the place" it doesn't really help to dwell on how uncomfortable that feels, and there are a lot of other things to be enjoying more...but maybe a little less wine this week. ;)

I Just LOVE This Time of Year

September Sunrise

I noticed the grocery store had Halloween candy in stock before Labor Day this year, which seemed a little early. Then I started getting catalogs in the mail with Halloween decorations and other autumn decor. Last weekend when I was looking at finds for my Gawking Not Shopping blog, Etsy was overflowing with new seasonal items to post. This week I read a news article that said Americans are officially obsessed with anything in "Pumpkin Spice" right now. Finally this weekend has been quite chilly, and that's the last straw for me - I can't wait any longer for fall to arrive!

Where does all of the glory of autumn end? As I continue working on my new jewelry collection, I'm intentionally creating designs that are ideal for working on while I'm watching football. During halftime this afternoon I can help my husband harvest the dozens of beautiful jack-o-lantern pumpkins he kindly grew for my enjoyment. We're just starting to see the birds at our feeders transition from the spring/summer species to the fall/winter species, and I swear the sunrises are better this time of year. Soon it will be cold enough to light fires in the evening too. Living out in the country, we don't even need to rake the leaves; we just sit back and watch them fall. And then there's all of those comfy sweaters to wear...OK, I'll stop there, but I could go on forever.

Now I  get to hop over to my Gawking Not Shopping blog again and find more fun fall accessories to post. I love it!!!

It's Jewelry Again!

Finally, finally finally... If I could sit around all day designing and making jewelry, that would be better than a vacation. With thousands of dollars worth of jewelry supplies sitting in my studio, it's been so hard to concentrate on the administrative-type items that have needed my attention during this transitional period. Now I'm back to making jewelry with more ideas than I'll ever have time to prepare before Christmas.

Inspirations for jewelry designs can be so overwhelming that I find my better designs tend to come when I limit my thought process. For example, the necklace to the left above is meant to go with pretty much every standard brown outfit, and the necklace on the right is very simple to go with less than basic items. I have a tendency to design over-the-top statement jewelry if I'm not stopping to think, "What on earth would I wear this with?".  So now as I roll out my new designs, I'm going to categorize them according to what to wear them with which is exactly where I'll get my inspiration - my own closet.

My simple designs will go into a Keep It Simple (KIS) Collection. My less simple but very versatile designs that go with everything will be in my GOTO Collection (i.e. the jewelry you always go to). Then of course I can't get away without making statement jewelry, so I will also have a SHOUT Collection that has all of the unusual appeal but still has a place in one's wardrobe and not just looking cute on the jewelry holder. Ok, I'm still mulling over the names of the collections, but whatever I call them, they will be simple, go-to and statement collections.

I think I've got all of my social media activities wrapped up for the day, and with this long Labor Day weekend, I'll get to spend the rest of today and most of tomorrow making jewelry - yippee!!!